Reigning champ TWU seeded No. 1 for second straight year
Canadian Interuniversity Sport – OTTAWA (CIS) – A year after capturing their first national title as the top-seed, the Trinity Western University Spartans are once again tournament favourites heading into the 2016 CIS women’s volleyball championship.
Championship website: http://english.cis-sic.ca/championships/wvball/index
The seeding was announced on Sunday evening for the three-day competition, which kicks off on Friday at Brandon University and culminates next Sunday with the gold-medal final at 6 p.m. Central Time. All 11 matches from the eight-team tourney will be televised locally on WCGtv and webcast live on www.CIS-SIC.tv.
Rounding out the seeding behind Canada West champ TWU are the No. 2 Toronto Varsity Blues (OUA champions), No. 3 UBC Okanagan Heat (Canada West finalists), No. 4 Montreal Carabins (RSEQ champs), No. 5 UBC Thunderbirds (Canada West bronze medallists), No. 6 Dalhousie Tigers (AUS champs), No. 7 McGill Martlets (RSEQ finalists) and No. 8 Brandon Bobcats (hosts).
Friday’s quarter-finals include McGill vs. Toronto in the 12:30 p.m. CT opener, followed by Dalhousie vs. UBC Okanagan at 2:30 p.m., host Brandon vs. Trinity Western at 6 p.m., as well as UBC vs. Montreal at 8 p.m.
After going 20-4 in league play, the Spartans claimed their second straight Canada West banner this weekend thanks to a pair of thrilling five-set wins over Alberta and UBC Okanagan at the conference Final Four.
Trinity Western’s No. 1 seeding for the CIS championship marks the seventh in a row for Canada West teams and their 14th in the past 15 campaigns, the lone exception being Montreal in 2009.
In addition to TWU, UBC and Dalhousie are the only programs among this week’s contenders that have captured the CIS title in the past. The T-Birds hold the all-time record with 10 crowns, while the Tigers’ lone triumph dates back to 1982.
NOTES: Brandon is hosting the first CIS championship in school history, in any sport… The Bobcats are set to make their first-ever appearance at the national competition… A complete championship preview will follow on Tuesday… The CIS all-Canadians and major award winners will be announced Thursday morning.
SEEDING
1. Trinity Western Spartans (CWUAA champions: 20-4 regular season / 4-0 playoffs)
2. Toronto Varsity Blues (OUA champions: 19-0 regular season / 3-0 playoffs)
3. UBC Okanagan Heat (CWUAA finalists: 22-2 regular season / 1-1 playoffs)
4. Montreal Carabins (RSEQ champions: 17-5 regular season / 4-0 playoffs)
5. UBC Thunderbirds (CWUAA bronze medallists: 17-7 regular season / 3-1 playoffs)
6. Dalhousie Tigers (AUS champions: 14-3 regular season / 2-0 playoffs)
7. McGill Martlets (RSEQ finalists: 15-7 regular season / 2-3 playoffs)
8. Brandon Bobcats (Hosts: 15-9 regular season / 0-2 playoffs)
CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE (all times CENTRAL TIME)
Thursday, March 10
8:00 All-Canadian Breakfast (Victoria Inn Hotel and Convention Centre)
Friday, March 11
12:30 Quarter-final #1: McGill vs. Toronto (WCGtv / www.CIS-SIC.tv)
14:30 Quarter-final #2: Dalhousie vs. UBC Okanagan (WCGtv / www.CIS-SIC.tv)
18:00 Quarter-final #3: Brandon vs. Trinity Western (WCGtv / www.CIS-SIC.tv)
20:00 Quarter-final #4: UBC vs. Montreal (WCGtv / www.CIS-SIC.tv)
Saturday, March 12
12:30 Consolation #1: Loser QF #1 vs. Loser QF #2 (WCGtv / www.CIS-SIC.tv)
14:30 Consolation #2: Loser QF #3 vs. Loser QF #4 (WCGtv / www.CIS-SIC.tv)
18:00 Semifinal #1: Winner QF #1 vs. Winner QF #2 (WCGtv / www.CIS-SIC.tv)
20:00 Semifinal #2: Winner QF #3 vs. Winner QF #4 (WCGtv / www.CIS-SIC.tv)
Sunday, March 13
13:00 5th place (WCGtv / www.CIS-SIC.tv)
15:00 Bronze medal (WCGtv / www.CIS-SIC.tv)
18:00 Championship final (WCGtv / www.CIS-SIC.tv)
About Canadian Interuniversity Sport
Canadian Interuniversity Sport is the national governing body of university sport in Canada. Every year, over 12,000 student-athletes and 700 coaches from 56 universities and four regional associations vie for 21 national championships in 12 different sports. CIS also provides high performance international opportunities for Canadian student-athletes at Winter and Summer Universiades, as well as numerous world university championships. For further information, visit www.cis-sic.ca or follow us on:
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For further information, please contact:
Michel Bélanger
Communications & Media Relations
Canadian Interuniversity Sport
T: 613-562-5670 ext. 25
C: 613-447-6334
E: belanger@universitysport.ca
Matt Packwood
Brandon University
T: 204-727-7375
C: 204-570-0842